Chapter 24

AMBER'S POV
With only one thought in my mind, I waltzed out of the restroom and headed for the hallway that led to the entrance of the school building. There really wasn't thing to live for, yes, I had my kids but they'd be better off without me, that much I was sure about.
I couldn't forget the expression on my mum's face when she found out I was pregnant, it was priceless and 10 years after the whole event, I still remembered it vividly. She had asked who the father was but even as much as i knew who he was, there wasn't any point in disclosing that truth to her. He probably had no knowledge of that night or he saw it as a mistake and didn't want to acknowledge the pregnancy or even me.
"You're Amber Swift, aren't you?" I really wasn't in the mood to converse with anyone but the girl looked like she needed to talk to someone, anyone, I did too.
"Yes and if I'll be honest with you, I'd rather be anyone right now" She looked at me complexly and I added, "Even Principal Ranch" that got a laugh out of her and I smiled.
"I'm Beatrice, you'd probably not remember me but I was in my second year while you were in your final year and you allowed me attend one of your private cheer leading rehearsals" the girl said with a huge smile and I took another look at her, a good one this time around and was surprised to know I actually did remember her. She looked all grown up and very beautiful, Beatrice Shell was a very timid girl back in those days. It was nice to see she grew up well.
"Do you want some alcohol?" She stretched the bottle of vodka towards me and I accepted it as I sat on the pavement next to her. We spent the next 10 minutes talking about how much had changed since we left highschool and I realized not for the first time, how badly I had turned out.
"I'm going to go for a walk, enjoy the rest of your evening Beatrice. It was nice to meet you" I gave Beatrice a little hug as I stood up and walked out of the school. Peter Harley had showed me a hideout as he usually called it back in the days and I had started going there years after we left highschool. It had slowly become a sort of safe haven for me and without thinking, I started walking towards the hideout.
Mrs Carol had volunteered to babysit the children since Mel and I was going to be attending the parties, so I decided to call her to hear the children's voices even if it was for the last time. As she answered, I could overhear Maddie yelling and Frankie mimicking her. I asked about Danny, Stacey and Ken Jr and she confirmed they were all fine. I wouldn't be able to pull through with whatever I had in mind to do if I wasn't sure my kids were going to be in the right hands.
JAY'S POV
Pauline and Eve exchanged glances as Peter lashed out at Eve who stood quietly with her mouth slightly ajar. It made no sense that Peter had sat and watched the whole scene unfold then approach them afterwards to yell at them. The entire scene looked fake to me but that wasn't really my concern as I turned and walked out of the gym.
Amber Swift may not have been as innocent as I had thought when I first met her back in highschool but everyone changes with time and everyone makes mistakes but that didn't mean she deserved the treatment Eve and Pauline had given her not quite long ago.
I stood in the hallway with my head bent low towards the ground, trying to catch my breath. I had been looking for Amber for over 30 minutes and surprisingly no one had seen any signs of her after she left the gym and I was getting more worried by the minute.
"Excuse me, are you looking for someone?" Someone tapped my shoulder and I whirled around to see a slender guy. He was putting on the basketball team's uniform but I had no idea who he was, I responded nonetheless,
"Yes, I don't know if you remember her though cause I honestly don't remember you" I chuckled slightly but the guy had a straight face on, I continued,
"Yes, I'm looking for Amber Swift" the guy shook his head to show he didn't recognize the name but then a girl that was walking past us asked,
"The cheer captain?" I nodded, she pointed towards the exit of the school. "I was with her awhile ago, we sat outside the school. She said something about going for a walk" the girl said looking at me like she didn't understand why I was making a fuss.
The guy nodded, "I saw her in the parking lot, she was headed towards the waterline. I think that's where she's going, I'm not sure though, she looked very distant" he said as he walked away. The waterline? Why would she be going towards the waterline? It was usually very dangerous at night, I knew from experience and it wasn't a good one at all.
There were over a thousand things on my mind as I raced down the road leading to the waterline, I had a very bad feeling about the whole situation but I decided to not be pessimistic. If whatever Eve and Pauline had been going on about earlier was true, Amber had three kids, triplets that had blue eyes like me. Were they the same triplets I had met at the carnival the other night?
I decided I wasn't going to conclude on anything until I saw Amber and made sure she was okay and I wasn't going to be okay until I was sure she was.